Of Rivals and Friends
by Sara Jaye
Summary: Ash and Gary talk. Set somewhere between the Indigo Finals and the Orange Islands arc.


"Of Rivals and Friends"  
by Sara Jaye  
  
w00t! My first Pokemon fic in over two years! :o This is just a   
short piece of friendshippy fluff set between the Indigo Finals and the   
Orange Islands arc. Another 15-minute challengefic. ^_^  
  
[Pokemon belongs to Gamefreak, Nintendo, and Satoshi Tajiri. The dub names   
belong to 4Kids. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile]  
  
~  
  
"So, we meet again."  
  
I turned around, looking my rival in the face.  
  
"Long time no see, Ash."  
  
"So, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be in the Orange Islands   
already by now," he said.  
  
"I thought you'd be rushing off to the first gym for a badge," I laughed.  
  
We stood in silence. It had been awhile. He'd grown a bit taller, but he   
was still a few inches behind me. His Pikachu stood by his side; it   
obviously never learned to accept its pokeball. Ash himself still wore the   
same outfit he always had, right down to that silly Pokemon League hat of   
his.  
  
Still, I couldn't help smiling a little. After all this time, I had to   
admit it wasn't bad to see him.  
  
"So, are you competing in the Orange League?" I asked.  
  
"Of course! I AM going to be a Pokemon master, I need all the experience I   
can get!" Ash replied gleefully.  
  
"Pi-ka!" The little electric mouse added.  
  
"Are you gonna compete?" he asked. I thought for a moment. Truthfully, I   
had my heart set on it, but I wasn't sure whether to tell him. In the past,   
I would've said something like "You bet I am, and I'm gonna beat you when   
we get to the finals, loser!". But after losing the Indigo League finals, I   
couldn't bring myself to pick on Ash anymore. Sure, he was a hotheaded,   
competitive dork, but after seeing how well he'd done in the finals, there   
was no way I could call the guy a loser anymore.  
  
"I guess so. I could use the experience myself," I finally said.  
  
"Taking this as another chance to try and beat me, are you?" Ash smirked. I   
laughed.  
  
"And what if I am?"  
  
"Then I'll just have to try harder to kick your butt!"  
  
"I'd like to see you try! Your collection of pokemon isn't nearly as big as   
mine!"  
  
"I may not have that many pokemon, but the ones I do have are the best!"  
  
"Oh, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Suddenly, we started laughing.  
  
"Listen to us!" I snickered. "Doesn't this sound familiar?"  
  
"Didn't we have this fight somewhere around Fuchsia City?" Ash laughed.  
  
"Or was it Cerulean? Or maybe the time with the Aerodactyl?" I sighed.   
"Jeez, ever since we were eight years old we fought over who was going to   
be the best Pokemon master."  
  
"I know!"  
  
"And then the day we left, you showed up at the lab-"  
  
"In my pajamas," Ash finished. "You'll never let me live that one down,   
will you?"  
  
"Do Jigglypuffs fly?" I smirked. Ash groaned.  
  
"I'll take that as a no."  
  
"Hey..." I walked over and slung my arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry   
about it. I'm just messing around with ya."  
  
"Yeah, I know." He smiled. "And besides, it's not like I was naked or in my   
underwear," he snickered.  
  
"That wouldn't only have been embarrassing, you would've gotten arrested!"   
I said. "Well, I'm not sure they'd actually arrest a ten year old kid for   
that..."  
  
"Who knows," Ash laughed.  
  
"Pikapi!" Pikachu smiled and jumped into Ash's arms.  
  
"That Pikachu's really gotten to like you, hasn't it?" I commented.  
  
"Yeah! HE still shocks me every now and then and he doesn't always listen   
to me, but he's my best friend!" Ash smiled, stroking Pikachu's fur. "Well,   
aside from Brock and Misty."  
  
"They're still with ya?"  
  
"Yeah. Misty won't let me go until I pay her back for that bike. And Brock   
feels the need to keep an eye on the both of us," Ash said. "But they're   
nice to have around."  
  
"Oh, yeah, the bike," I said. "So...have you started saving your money   
yet?"  
  
"I'm halfway there," he sighed. "Girls are expensive!"  
  
"Girls. Can't live with em, can't live without em." I grinned.  
  
"Well, YOU had all those cheerleaders..."  
  
"Yes, but underneath the pom-poms, they're each their own woman. And   
worship me as they will..."  
  
"So they DO have personalities."  
  
"Hey, don't be picking on them!"  
  
"Don't worry, I wasn't."  
  
"Good."  
  
Silence came over us again, and I smiled. It was kind of nice, talking to   
him like this.  
  
"So...I guess you'd better be on your way, or start packing for your new   
journey," I said at length.  
  
"I guess so...I'll see you around, then?" he asked.  
  
"Of course! Someone's gotta keep you on your toes, after all." I winked.  
  
"Hey!" His brow furrowed, then he smiled at me. "Thanks. If I gotta have   
someone after me all the time, I'm glad it's you," he said.  
  
"Any time." I ruffled the hair at the back of his head. "See ya around!"  
  
"See ya!"  
  
We shook hands briefly, then Ash turned around and headed in the other   
direction.  
  
I sighed as I headed back to my own house.  
  
'Sometimes, your rival can turn out to be a pretty damned good friend,' I   
thought.  
  
~End~  
  
Aaah, the satisfaction of finishing a story in one writing session!   
:D This was a lot of fun to write...I rather like the "friendly rivals"   
dynamic between Ash and Gary. Those kinds of relationships are always   
interesting and fun. ^_^ 


End file.
